Jul 26, 2006 — The acclaimed Gregg Smith singers this month presented a concert of original music inspired by winning poems from the Great Adirondack Poetry Contest for school children. Todd Moe reports.  Go to full article

Jun 30, 2006 — Southern Adirondacks singer-songwriter John Kribs joined Todd Moe, and co-hosts Hilary Oak and Beth Robinson in the studio last night for NCPR's Open Studio. Here are some highlights.  Go to full article

Jun 29, 2006 — Sunday's New York Times had an article about hundreds of hand-painted theater curtains in Vermont being restored thanks to a statewide preservation effort. They once hung on small stages in opera houses and in town and Grange halls. Some towns are hoping their refurbished curtains will bring people back to neglected stages and music halls. There are similar efforts underway at historic opera houses in northern New York. Beth Robinson recently toured the Edwards Opera House, a prime example of a St. Lawrence County community working to preserve the past and reclaim a piece of cultural history.  Go to full article

Jun 29, 2006 — The weather has been on the minds of a lot of North Country residents this week: heavy rains left flooding and washed-out roadways. We asked Adirondack artist David Douglas to describe June's weather from a visual artist's perspective. What colors would he use to "paint" the weather this month? David Douglas has lived and worked in Jay since 1987. You'll find his artwork on display at "Twigs" in Lake Placid.  Go to full article

Jun 29, 2006 — This month marks the 30th anniversary of the so-called "Slick of '76", a 300-thousand gallon oil spill in the heart of the Thousand Islands. The thick crude coated the shoreline of the St. Lawrence Seaway, from Alexandria Bay to Massena. The Nepco 140 accident remains one of the largest inland oil spills in the U.S., and it mobilized communities along the river around the issue of pollution. "Save the River", a non-profit environmental organization on the St. Lawrence, is co-producing a revival production of Slick of '76 - A Musical Catastrophe. It was first performed in 1986 to enliven public awareness of this historic event, as a reminder that future accidents are possible and the need for educating good stewards of the earth. Todd Moe spoke with John Burt, who commissioned the Slick of '76 musical. He along with lyricist Barry Keating and director David Schechter, developed the first production.  Go to full article

Jun 29, 2006 — Singer/songwriter John Kribs joins us in the studio for music and conversation. We hear from Plattsburgh native John Lloyd Young, winner of this year's Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Musical on Broadway. And we preview "Simple Beauty," paintings by Georgia O'Keefe, at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Poet Steven White works out a long-distance collaboration with mbira player Richard Crandell on "Giving Voice." And, we talk with the creator of Slick of '76 - A Musical Catastrophe, which gets a revival next month at the Clayton Opera House.  Go to full article

Jun 29, 2006 — Canton poet and translator Steven White has experimented with reading his work accompanied by produced music in two CDs, Transversions and Transversions 2. But the limitations of working with independently-created music have led him to collaborate directly with a composer and performer, Oregon mbira player Richard Crandell. Dale Hobson talks with the poet about this long-distance artistic partnership, and we hear two poems--"Oil & Consciousness" and "The Clay Pots." Our thanks to public radio station KLCC in Eugene, Oregon, and to music director Michael Canning for production assistance on this piece.  Go to full article

Jun 26, 2006 — The artist Georgia O'Keeffe is most famous for her paintings of the American Southwest. Her unique mingling of naturalism and abstraction seem permanently intertwined with the deserts and mesas of New Mexico. But O'Keeffe's first maturity as an artist -- and her first fame -- came during the 1920s when she spent summers living and painting in Lake George. Many of her iconic ideas and techniques were developed in the Adirondacks. Brian Mann visited the new Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition, which opened this weekend at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.  Go to full article

Jun 16, 2006 — Plattsburgh is celebrating the success of native son John Lloyd Young who won a Tony Award and then made a trip to the White House for a command performance earlier this week. Young was honored last Sunday night with Broadway's highest award -- the Tony for best lead actor in a musical -- for his powerful performance as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys. The show also won best musical. Young graduated from Plattsburgh High School in 1993, and he told Todd Moe about growing up in the North Country.  Go to full article

May 25, 2006 — We waltz through "mud season" with music by Adirondack Harper Martha Gallagher, take a tour of art in a St. Lawrence county garden, preview new music with Adirondack singer/songwriter Celia Evans, hear a poem for Memorial Day written by Dale Hobson and sung by Barb Heller, and sample your haiku for spring.  Go to full article